Kumamoto International Airport, which operates Aso Kumamoto Airport, is working with the Suntory Group and Mashiki Town to implement horizontal recycling, "bottle to bottle." A ceremony to sign a partnership agreement was held on June 5th, which is the United Nations' World Environment Day and Japan's Environment Day.

Horizontal recycling, "bottle to bottle," involves collecting used PET bottles and regenerating them into "Suntory PET bottles." All PET bottles discarded from Aso Kumamoto Airport are handed over to a recycler via the Mashiki Clean Center. This has the benefit of reducing the use of petroleum-derived raw materials and significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This is the first time in the western Japan area that an airport, a beverage manufacturer, and a local government have signed a "bottle to bottle" collaboration agreement.

Taking advantage of this collaboration, we have installed new recycling boxes in the airport. The design uses pictograms to encourage sorting. We hope that by catching the eye of customers using Aso Kumamoto Airport and all those working at the airport, this will lead to increased environmental awareness.